Tuesday, 28 January 2014

Vitoria 1813

Recreation of the battle fought at Vitoria in 1813, wich saw the french thrown out of Spain.

The french have the center, with their positions protected by the Zadorra river, the british atack from two directions, from the left come the divisions of general Graham, and from the front, the combined force of Wellington and Picton.

After some complaints from the french players due to them being alwas in numerical inferiority because the real forces in the battle it was decided that from now on the two sides will have the same strenght, sacrificing historical accuracy for more playability.

The british center

Graham's force, scots greys in the right

Vision of the french positions

First blood goes to one of Graham's divisions wich suffers two wounds under the french barrage

Scots greys and infantry move to cross the Zadorra in the french right

the british advance their guns and start firing

Graham's division continues to suffer without moving an inch

and is finally destroyed

But the british start to inflict damage upon the infantry across the river

The british light dragoons charge crossing the Zadorra, but are met by french squares

The scots greys also charge

and a division moves in support of the light dragoons

the french cannons inflict a wound in one of the british batteries

The scots greys storm across the bridge breaking it's cheavuxleger defenders and capturing their colour!

the squares throw back the light dragoons

but the french battery is silenced by concentrated british fire

wich also causes a wound in the square

the scots are loose in the french rearguard and blocking the scape route to France

but the imperial dragoons are coming to save the day

another charge against the squares

the french divisions surround the scots

a french division keeps ready in line behind the squares

another unsurprising repulse

a british division is crossing the Zadorra to help the scots but it's already too late

meanwhile, the scottish division has started to move in the british far right

helped by the artillery who softens their target

the scots are routed and the chevauxleger colors recaptured

the scots move uphill under a storm of bullets

british infantry charge and break the squares

the artillery continues to pound the french in the hill

in the rearguard, the british charge against french divisions

while the infantry in the center fights at bayonet point

more british crossing to reinforce their attack at the center

the british in the rearguard are countercharged by the french dragoons

the light draggons charge in suport of their infantry

and the scots continue climbing

the last british forces in the rearguard are destroyed and lose their colours

the dices doing weird things upon the grass board

the hand to hand in the center continues, with the valiant french destroying the light draggons

the british move a battery across the river comitting the remnants of their force now that the attack in the rear has failed

hand to hand in the hill

a battery is destroyed by musket fire

and the british division in hte center finally routs under too much pressure

the panic generalises as the scots also abandon their attak on the hill

the last division, led by Wellington himself attacks stubbornly the center, but is flanked by frenchmen that have came out of the village

the forces in the french rear are moving rapidly towards the vanguard carrying their wounded generals with them

Wellington leads heroicly, and the french central division is routed

but at the cost of himself being wounded

the french dragoons finally come within sabre's reach and charge the flank of the division

the last british infantry unit collapses under the assault of two full french divisions losings their colours and Wellinton, who is captured by the french

the remaining british battery defends itself against the french horsemen